Micromax to launch four smartphones with Google Duo pre-loaded
According to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report, domestic handset maker Micromax will launch four 4G
smartphones in India for the festive season. The company has partnered with
Google to preload the latter’s video calling app, Duo, on these smartphones.
These budget smartphones will be priced under
$100, and the ‘video series’ will help users discover video calling with Duo.
“Video calling is perceived to be a very
urban phenomenon and niche but at Micromax, we believe that there is a huge
potential to massify the service by taking it beyond the tier 1 markets where
Micromax has an unmatched edge,” Micromax co-founder Vikas Jain told PTI.
According to research firm IDC, 15.4 million
4G smartphones were shipped in January-March 2016 quarter – a growth of more
than six times over the same period last year. Sales of 4G smartphones have
grown significantly in India as operators expand their high-speed Internet
services (4G-LTE) networks in the country.
The Duo app, first announced by Google at its
I/O developer conference earlier this year, was launched last month for Android
and iOS users and aims to compete against apps like FaceTime and Skype by
offering seamless, one-to-one video calling. It allows users to connect using
their phone numbers without the need for a separate account.
Google claims that Duo has been built to be
fast and reliable, so that video calls connect quickly and work well even on
slower networks – something that is relevant for the Indian market. Within the
first month, Duo saw over 10 million downloads with US and India being the top
countries in terms of downloads. However, 5 millin of these downloads were in
the first week, implying the buzz tapering off after the launch.
Source: androidauth
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